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Unit 3: Building a Nation

Confederation:

• What Confederation is: The act of an alliance. When colonies unite and join governments.

Reasons for Confederation:

1. Changing British Attitudes:

• The British did not want the colonies because they were expensive to defend and they felt they were a burden. They thought that the colonies should join together, so they could take care of themselves.

2. Political Deadlock:

• It was so hard to get any bills/ laws passed at this time
• = number of seats in Can. W & E. which was unfair to Can E. because more people lived in Can W
• in 1861 immigrators came to Canada and out numbered the french population of Lower Canada so Can W. demanded "Rep by Pop" but Can E hesitated
• Political deadlock brought a standstill in government when 12 different governments were in power
• when Govt. lead by Macdonald was voted out of Brown, leader of Reform Party Coalition joined the parties and a coalition had begun due to crisis
• Tories wanted to break deadlock --> plan: give provinces own govt. and "Rep by Pop"

3. Fenian Raids:

• Irish American troops who were hostile to Britain. They attacked the colonies so British would release control over Ireland.

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4. Need for Rail Links:

• If they wanted trade among colonies, rail links were essential

5. Trouble with Trade:

• Free trade caused problems for econmy of BNA

• The US intended on ending reciprocity and the British ended Mercantilism. This would leave the colonies with no trading partners

• If colonies unite = easy trade

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6. War & Expansionism in the US:

• Americans wanted to take over North America because they believed in Manifest Destiny

• British helped South U.S. in civil war

• Colonies feared U.S. North may take revenge againts Britiain

• US purchased Alaska = surrounding British colonies

• When gold found in B.C, Americans fled North

Conferences:

• Charlottetown Conference 1864 - Nova Scotia, P.E.I., New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada. The decided to work towards confederation of all BNA colonies, and that the next conference should be held in a months time in Quebec.
• Quebec Conference 1864 - Nova Scotia, P.E.I., New Brunswick, the Province of Canada, and Newfoundland. They made the seventy two resolutions: to form the basis upon which the new nation of canada would be built.
• London, England Conference 1866 - Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick. Seventy two resolutions were presented to Britain officials, Queen Victoria proclaimed that the dominion of canada would become a nation on July 1st 1867. John A. Macdonald was to be the first Prime Minister.

(Father's of Confederation at the Charlottetown Conference)

• Which colonies decided to join confederation? Upper Canada, Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick

• Terms
• Political deadlock-
• Mercantilism- An economic system based on colonialism, in which the home country uses raw goods imported from the colonies to manufactured goods
• Fenians-Irish americans that were attacking British North America because they wanted Britain to release Ireland

British North America Act (BNA Act)

The British North American Act created the country of CANADA.

After many negotiations and debates, the Act was finally passed in 1867

Type of Government

• The BNA act created a federal government, it created a federal government so that a civil war wouldn't happen

Divisions of Power

• The divisions of power between the Federal government and Provincial goverment defines the power of the federal parliament and the powers of each provincial legislature in Canada. They both follow a Constitution that allows for certain power between both governments.
• Federal government is stronger than Provincial government because it has more power over laws and has the right to pass acts by the Provincial government